The correct decision
by mysterious intentions
Summary: To be L.L. means to share her life of immortality, to shoulder her sins for eternity, to strip himself of his past personas, and to embrace this path of Codes and Geass. To be L.L. means that out of all the people who love and accept him, Lelouch is choosing to stay by her side. [Spoilers for Lelouch of the Re;surrection]
1. A push

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[Containers spoilers for Lelouch of the Re;surrection]

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As all the puzzle pieces fall neatly into place, C.C. reminds herself that she's a broken fragment—her edges too jagged and her colors too faded to ever fit in the picture.

Leaving is not only the correct decision, but also the inevitable one. A witch like herself has no right to cling to a human like Lelouch.

Nunally needs him, Suzaku forgives him, and Kallen trusts him. Lelouch has returned to the people who have carved a place for him, slotted right back into his roles like an emperor coming home to his waiting throne. Unlike herself, Lelouch is not a relic of an unknown past, but rather a present being with living connections—he has places to be and people to be with.

C.C. tightens her grip on the straps of her backpack, her fingers curling into fists and nails digging into her palms. The provisions should be lighter now that she's packing for one, but somehow, the backpack and sleeping mats strain her muscles more than ever. She sighs quietly. What is she doing? She's too old to be feeling sentimental.

With her eyes staring blankly at the trodden trail, C.C. walks away without another word, the sound of her sandals scuffing against the road as her only goodbye. This is how it's always been, she appears and then disappears, so why should this time be any different? Leaving is always the correct decision.

A firm hand yanks her backwards, and so lost in her fog of thoughts, C.C. lets out a surprised gasp. Traitorous hopes instantly flood her brain. _Lelouch?_ _Has he noticed me leaving? Is he coming to say goodbye? Will the stubborn warlock miss me? _Her eyes are blown wide as she slowly turns around—

She is met with a sullen Kallen, her eyes narrowed, her lips twisted into a slight frown. _Ah, why would it have been Lelouch? Of course not, a resurrected ghost would be too occupied cherishing his loved ones instead of worrying about a witch. _The weight of her thoughts makes her shoulders sag, but C.C. is quick to compose herself.

In Kallen's hands is none other than her beloved Cheese-kun, forgotten in C.C.'s haste to pack her bags and disappear from sight. How could she have made such a critical oversight? Kallen thrusts out Cheese-kun, her expression unchanging, "You forgot something," the ace pilot deadpans.

Oh, it was only because she had forgotten something.

"O-Oh, thanks," C.C. stutters, and mentally reprimands herself at the pang of disappointment prickling her heart. She accepts her plushie from Kallen and cradles Cheese-kun's soft body against her chest.

Kallen places a hand on her hip, her eyebrows furrowing. "What's this? You're leaving all alone?" The red-head's question tapers off gently. It's almost like she's worried about C.C. being left alone, as if that would be a problem for the immortal witch.

"I can't be part of any public group, but I'll stop in every so often," C.C. softly replies. It's a rational answer and the truth— if C.C. were to be associated with anyone, she would only attract pain and suffering. She turns around quickly, slipping away before Kallen can ask any other unnecessary questions.

"Hmm…" C.C. hears Kallen hum uncertainly as she leaves, but the other woman does not move to follow her. The correct decision, really.

In the last few years, C.C. had admittedly grown quite fond of the red-haired pilot. Kallen is gutsy, and is fearless when it comes to putting anyone in their place with both her words and fists. However, underneath her ferocity as one of the Black Knight's best pilots, Kallen has a kind and strong heart.

Maybe in another life, C.C. and Kallen would have been close friends who engaged in normal school girl activities that didn't involve coup d'é tats and political uprisings. The beginning of a wistful smile lifts up her lips at the same time the pang of disappointment of the "could haves" and "what ifs" prickle her heart again. But thinking of such impossible things was of course, nothing but pointless. Kallen would carry on fine without her, and it'd be good if Lelouch kept someone strong and loyal like Kallen by his side. Who knows? Maybe next time she popped in the two of them would be romantically linked.

C.C. continues up the path towards the refugees, who are trickling out of Zilkhstan like a steady stream of ants. That line is where she belongs. She inhales the dry, hot air and feels the calm resignation sink into her bones. Her feet plop heavily with every step, the sand crackling underneath her shoes and coating her socks with a layer of dust.

"C.C! Hey, wait up, C.C!"

"Eh?"

C.C. cautiously turns around. This time, it actually is Lelouch, and he's running towards her with every ounce of his pitiful stamina. The dash had probably only been about 100 yards, but he's panting for breath and heaving as if he was on the brink of collapsing into a pile of jelly.

She regards him with an unimpressed stare. "You haven't changed at all in that regard," she notes, a hint of amusement coloring her voice.

"It's not that…!" Lelouch immediately interjects, the desperate sense of urgency left unconcealed. "You just…left without…saying anything…" He manages to utter between rasping breaths.

"So, what is it? Did I forget something?" C.C. responds airily. It's been a few minutes, and now the immortal witch is much more in control of her lingering thoughts and won't make the same mistake of jumping to ridiculous conclusions. But what item could she have forgotten this time? Other than Cheese-kun, the number of possessions she values is less than the number of her fingers—

"I'm coming… with you..."

Lelouch does not say this as a question.

Her heart lurches in her chest, she can practically hear it ram against her rib cage…this silly boy can't be serious. Confusion waterfalls over her like a bucket of ice-cold water. The notion of Lelouch joining her is so ludicrous that C.C. automatically protests, "Huh? What about Nunally?"

Nunally, the person who was the core of Lelouch's motivations. How could this overprotective big brother ever let go of his role?

Finally regaining his breath and achieving normal lung function, Lelouch straightens up. He stares directly into C.C.'s bewildered golden eyes, his own eyes strikingly clear and focused on her and only her, and calmly explains, "Nunally…Nunally can live just fine on her own now. If I'm around, I'll just be in her way."

C.C. protectively hugs herself, tightening her grip on Cheese-kun until the plushie's face squishes against her arms. "Then, there are other options, right? You could go pay a visit to Shirley or Kaguya, couldn't you?"

At the mention of their names, Lelouch's face softens. That's right. Shirley and Kaguya are good girls. Good girls with less complicated pasts and pure hearts who will be nice and loyal to Lelouch. _These_ types of people are the ones who will make Lelouch happy.

However, once again, Lelouch dismisses her protest with infuriating calmness. "I am planning to contact Shirley at some point, but if I go now, it will cause a huge scene," he replies, rubbing the back of his neck.

It's unusual for Lelouch to not think a decision through and through, but in this case, Lelouch obviously isn't thinking clearly. It's only a matter of time until one day, he snaps to his senses and decides to leave her. So maybe that's it. Maybe he's just planning to bide his time with her until he's got his bearings all figured out and formulated a new clever plot or scheme.

Once again, Cheese-kun's face squeezes against C.C.'s taut forearms. The heat from her palms are warm against her sweaty arms, but nevertheless, she senses the hairs on her skin rise. "Hmph, if you're looking for someone to wait on you, look somewhere else. I'm on my way to track down the Geass fragments that Shamna left behind," C.C. retorts flippantly.

"What about _you_?!" Lelouch snaps, falling back into their usual dynamic of snarky banter. "You bring someone back to life without asking, and now you're neglecting them? Hmph, such a self-centered woman!"

"You didn't know that? Yes, I _am_ self-centered!" C.C. agrees without missing a beat. Finally, the silly boy is getting the message through to his thick, stubborn, skull. A life with her would only lead to sorrow and isolation. Leaving is the correct decision, the inevitable decision, the _only_ decision.

"Besides, what are you going to do about your name?" C.C. points out as she spins on her heel. At this rate, the stream of refugees is going to dwindle down and C.C. will miss her opportunity to blend in with the crowd. "If word gets out, it's going to be a huge deal."

She hears Lelouch's footsteps behind her, nearly matching her own pace. "My name?" Lelouch repeats, "well, taking it from Lelouch Lamperouge, how does L.L. sound?"

Her feet abruptly stop moving, she freezes in place. Slowly, like a rusted music box that's been winded after years of disuse, she revolves around to face the boy following her. Her mouth parts open, eyes growing wide and colored with one singular emotion of disbelief.

"Huh?" C.C. murmurs under her breath.

"No good?" Lelouch inquires politely.

Did Lelouch just say…?

She heard incorrectly. That is the only explanation that could be true, because this reality could not possibly be happening. Her heart feels like its bouncing around in her rib cage— no, that isn't quite right, her heart feels like its _fluttering_— like she was some normal school girl that had just received an out of the blue confession from her crush.

For a few seconds, C.C. can't do anything but stare in shell-shocked silence, her hands trembling as her grasp on Cheese-kun slackens.

C.C. blinks and breathes until her lungs are completely filled—Lelouch does not move a muscle. He stands solidly in place, watching her reaction and waiting for her response.

The boy in front of her is the great Lelouch vi Britannia, the cunning mastermind Zero, and the pleasant-natured student Lelouch Lamperouge, but right now he is asking to be…?

Lelouch, the proudest man that C.C. had ever come across, is baring his soul and handing it over to her on a humble platter of sincerity.

To be L.L. means to share her life of immortality, to shoulder her sins for eternity, to strip himself of his past personas, and to embrace this path of Codes and Geass. To be L.L. means that out of all the people who love and accept him, Lelouch is choosing to stay by _her_ side.

C.C.— The green-haired witch killed more times than history could count. The pizza girl who can demolish an inhuman amount of the combination of dough, cheese, and tomato sauce in one sitting. The self-centered woman who will do anything it takes to find the pinhole of light.

Lelouch…means to stay with her forever. Someone has chosen her simply because they wanted to.

Hot tears pool in the corner of her eyes and stream down her cheeks. She doesn't move to wipe away the tear streaks tingling on her skin.

The witch's eyes are glassy pools of honey-gold as she looks up at her warlock, really looks at him as her equal partner. She smiles with the warmth of a gentle sun lighting up a cool morning, baring her own soul and handing it over to L.L. on a humble platter of gratitude.

If leaving is the correct, inevitable, and only decision, then so be it. C.C. was a stubborn witch, but she was L.L.'s stubborn witch, and there was never anything that said L.L. couldn't make the same correct, inevitable, and only decision.

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**Author's note**: Finally, after a decade, my original favorite pairing has a happy ending! What strikes me during this scene is how honestly straightforward Lelouch is with his desire to come with C.C.— he doesn't even know where C.C. is going, it doesn't even matter—and his calm rebuttals to C.C.'s immediate protests. Throughout the series Lelouch and C.C. have not always been forthcoming about how much they meant to each other, but now in this final scene, the incredibly proud Lelouch shoves away his pride and lays it all out for C.C., giving up his identity and taking on her name to get it through her head. It's a subtle but poignant shift in their relationship: to be honest with C.C. and to put her happiness first, has become more important to Lelouch than anything else.

Anyways that was just me rambling, I am considering doing a follow-up with Lelouch's perspective. Thank you for reading!


	2. Followed by a pull

Nunnally's lip trembles, the tell-tale sign that she's about to cry. The wavering eyes, the slight furrow of the brow, and then lastly, the lip tremble. Whenever those red flags arose, that had always been Lelouch's cue to sweep in and whisk her worries away with reassuring promises and honeyed words.

However, although her eyes do take on a glassy sheen, the Nunnally before him does not shed a single tear. Ah, his little sister has grown so much in his absence.

Instead, she takes a deep breath and exhales slowly through her nose. After a moment, she speaks with the even composure of an experienced diplomat, "Are you sure about your decision? The life that you lead may be dangerous and difficult. It won't be as comfortable as staying here with us."

Lelouch has thought this decision through and through, and although part of him does wish to revive those simple, halcyon days with Nunnally and Suzaku, he knows he now belongs elsewhere. As all the puzzle pieces re-arrange themselves back into place, Lelouch realizes that he's a mismatched fragment who's become displaced from the picture. He isn't…really meant to be here anymore.

"Yes, Nunnally. I'm sure," he replies softly, kneeling down to be eye-level with his sister.

Nunally sighs, but makes an effort to give her brother an understanding smile. "Brother, could you please answer a question for me?"

"Anything."

Nunally reaches for Lelouch's hand and squeezes it gently. Her eyes are bright and determined, shining like a lavender fire with flecks of darker violet embers. Her voice rings steady as she asks, "Do you love C.C.-san?"

The corner of Lelouch's mouth twitches and a faint redness brushes his cheeks, but Lelouch does not recoil at the question. Actually, Lelouch has been expecting this question— Nunnally had always been a bit of a romantic, she was never one to turn down stories about true love and happy endings.

"Love? I…don't know," Lelouch begins uncertainly.

A frown tugs at Nunally's lips, she grips his hand a little tighter in a silent plea for him to continue speaking, to try harder to provide an honest answer. It's the least he could do.

Lelouch squirms under her intense gaze, he brings up his free hand to rub the back of his neck. He doesn't have an answer not because he hasn't been thinking about it, because he _has_ been, quite a bit. The relationship that existed between himself and C.C. has always been hard to define— Friends? Accomplices? Lovers? Perhaps a year or 2 ago, Lelouch would have bluntly denied any supposed relationship, but now, being in love with C.C. doesn't seem like it should be something to be embarrassed of.

Suzaku chuckles, watching the whole scene from the sidelines. "Oh Lelouch. For someone who had every girl attracted to him, you actually don't have much experience with romance, do you?" he teases.

"Hmph," Lelouch pouts, "can you blame me? My hands were quite full with other priorities during my school years."

"Hmm…" Nunally taps her fingers against the back of Lelouch's hand, like she's playing mellifluous notes across piano keys. "Then maybe the question should be framed another way…why do you want to follow C.C.-san?"

Why? It is a good question indeed. C.C. is undeniably troublesome— stubborn, willful, flippant, the list can go on and on. Not to mention, living with her would most definitely result in a life-time diet of pizza. He can already taste the salty processed cheese coating his lips…

However, despite all his grousing…he couldn't imagine his life without C.C. He's toiled through all his life searching for the silver thread of happiness, but maybe it's been by his side all along.

From all his personas—Lelouch Lamperouge, Lelouch vi Britannia, Zero— C.C. had been the only one who had never abandoned him. He didn't need to select a persona to perform for her, she knew all of them, and without so much as a bat of an eyelash, gave her life and loyalty to him more times than he deserved. It was time for him to return the favor.

"I…" Lelouch begins, stringing together his feelings into cohesive words, "I have a promise to fulfill with C.C. She gave me the power to accomplish my wish, and now, I need to do the same for her."

Nunally studies her older brother, reading in between the lines and siphoning out his true meaning. "In other words, you would like to make C.C.-san happy? And believe that she would do the same for you?"

Lelouch pauses, then gives Nunally a half-smile. "I suppose that's one way to put it."

A smile finally curls up Nunally's lips, warmth brightening up her eyes. She releases Lelouch's hands and places her own demurely in her lap. "I see…as sad as I am to see you leave so soon…I give you my blessing and wish you and C.C. happy travels. But," she wags her finger playfully, "if you decide to get married, you better invite me to the wedding! And please visit often! You will both always have a home with us."

"M-Marriage?" Lelouch sputters. But when he thinks about it, he _is _offering to pledge his loyalty to C.C. for all eternity. Isn't that what marriage is? The weight of his decision slowly floats to him like a flurry of snow. This decision is real, and one that he oddly feels no trepidation committing to.

Lelouch hears Suzaku's footsteps edge closer until his best friend claps a hand on his shoulder. "I'm happy for you Lelouch, you deserve to live a life of peace. Besides, I always thought you and C.C.-san were good for each other. No one can keep up with you like she can," Suzaku muses.

Lelouch chuckles and remarks, "A life in peace? I doubt it, C.C. is a magnet for trouble."

Suzaku laughs and points out, "Like you're much better! But you know that you've always liked having trouble in your life." His childhood friend squats, stooping down to Lelouch and Nunally's eye level. "Not that I'm an expert in girls or anything…but Lelouch, a word of advice: be honest."

"Be honest?" Lelouch repeats skeptically. "Is that all the advice you can offer?"

"Hey, I thought it was pretty good. Short and to the point," Suzaku defends, then gives Lelouch a cheeky grin. "I've never seen two people who obviously care about each other very much be so reluctant to well…admit that they care about each other very much."

"Well, _that's_ because C.C. is so incredibly difficult—"

Suzaku cuts him off with a wave of his hand, the bemused smirk still playing at his lips. "See what I mean? Lelouch, just be truly honest that you want to be with her. All girls crave that sort of reassurance, even C.C. If she doesn't know that you care about her, then she's going to leave you."

"Already left you," a new voice announces. All 3 people in the room whip their heads up just as Kallen slips in through the door and leans against the frame.

"What?!" Lelouch squawks.

Kallen lifts an eyebrow at the high-pitched squeal of his voice but graciously doesn't comment, and continues, "If you mean 'who,' then I'm referring to C.C. of course. She just left."

Panic strikes him like the first drop of rain before a thunderstorm, and Lelouch staggers to his feet. "What?! Where is she going?!"

Raising her shoulders in a shrug, Kallen answers, "Don't really know. She didn't say. But she was following that trail of refugees. If you want to confess to her, you better do it now lover-boy before she disappears for another few years."

"Shit," Lelouch curses under his breath, then scrambles to snatch his wallet and that's really all the time he can spare with packing.

"Brother, do you want a backpack or supplies for your journey?" Nunally calls.

"No time," Lelouch denies as he shoves his feet into a pair of boots and haphazardly ties the laces into a passable knot. "If I lose C.C. now it'll be such a hassle to track her again. I'm afraid I must go now or I'll miss my chance to stop her."

He hops over to his sister and presses a kiss against her forehead. "You don't need me anymore Nunally, you're a better leader than I ever was. I love you, stay safe and be well."

Lelouch rushes to the door, but before he exits out of this life, he turns to Suzaku first, then Kallen, and Nunally one last time. At their glassy eyes and fond smiles, Lelouch remembers these are the people who have carved a space for him, and he really was quite lucky to be part of their stories.

"We will meet each other again, but for now this is farewell. Thank you, for everything."

* * *

The wind buffets grains of sand into his eyes and stings his cheeks a raw red. His lungs ache like they're about to collapse into his chest cavity, and he can barely breathe no matter how much oxygen he tries to greedily gulp into his mouth. His arms and legs are more like useless dead weight than muscles, and he wouldn't be surprised if he simply keeled over.

But he knows that the flash of green hair he spotted in the distance wasn't his imagination, and he forces himself to dig up the mental strength to push forward a few more strides.

"C.C.! Hey, wait up C.C.!"

He's at the precipice of blacking out by the time his feet clumsily stumble up to her, and he has to bend at his knees to support his own upper body. Just because he got resurrected doesn't mean his body was suddenly gifted with a better athletic build.

Her eyes are half-lidded as she regards him with her standard unimpressed stare. "You haven't changed at all in that regard."

"It's not that…you just…left without…saying anything," he manages to heave out a chain of sentence fragments. Damn it, he had this whole eloquent speech prepared too, but now he just sounded like a winded and sweaty idiot. Very sweaty. Both his long sleeve shirt and dark jeans are drenched— sweat pooling uncomfortably beneath his armpits and sticking to his thighs.

"So, what is it? Did I forget something?" C.C. responds in a no-nonsense tone; she cuts to the point and jumps to the conclusion that he must have a practical motive for rushing over here.

"I'm coming…with you…"

The statement shocks her so soundly that C.C. drops her guard, her jaw falling open. "Huh? What about Nunally?"

As breathing starts to feel less like having little knives puncture his lungs, Lelouch pulls himself up to his full height. He stares directly into C.C.'s golden eyes— for once, they're expressive and shining with disbelief— and then calmly informs her, "Nunally…Nunally can live just fine on her own now. If I'm around, I'll just be in her way."

C.C. however, is unconvinced, and clenches her ridiculous plushie so tightly that he wouldn't be surprised if cotton stuffing burst from the seams. She watches him warily and offers him another way out. "Then, there are other options, right? You could go pay a visit to Shirley or Kaguya, couldn't you?"

In typical C.C. fashion, she's trying to drive him away. But he knows her better than she thinks, and had already predicted this dismissive response and prepared accordingly.

"I am planning to contact Shirley at some point, but if I go now, it will cause a huge scene."

Instead of alleviating her worries, C.C. only grows more suspicious and points her nose in the air. "Hmph, if you're looking for someone to wait on you, look somewhere else. I'm on my way to track down the Geass fragments that Shamna left behind."

Irritation shoots up the tense muscles of Lelouch's neck and an impending headache pulses behind his eyes. Doesn't she understand that he nearly put himself into a grave from sprinting to catch her? As if he would engage in physical activity for anyone! Why must this pizza woman be so difficult?! He's not here because he's returning her possessions or because other women aren't available, he's here to spend the rest of his days with her for the sole reason that he _wants _to.

"What about _you_?!" he finally snaps, frustrated at the lengths she's willing to go to shove him away. "You bring someone back to life without asking, and now you're neglecting them? Hmph, such a self-centered woman!"

"You didn't know that? Yes, I _am_ self-centered," C.C. shouts back. She even has the audacity to simper like she had won the argument. Now that Lelouch understands just how self-centered she is, obviously he would turn tail and start running. Is that what she thinks? Spinning on her heel in a cloud of dust, C.C. heads towards the line of refugees without another glance backwards. But she always did like getting in the last word, and counters back, "Besides, what are you going to do about your name? If word gets out, it's going to be a huge deal."

_Be honest, _Suzaku's advice rings through his head like a ripple in a pond.

The relationship that existed between himself and C.C. has always been hard to define— friends? Accomplices? Lovers? It had always been an equilibrium of power between the two of them— if he saved her, then she saved him back. An unspoken quid pro quo that bound them together in a tug-of-war of balance. There would be times when they would allow the other to see a glimpse of vulnerability, a glimpse of something deeper running beneath their vague title of 'partners.' But more often than not, the sentimental moments would be reeled back in before they drowned in each other. Too much vulnerability from one side would give the other person the upperhand, and this relationship operated on only giving exactly enough. A push, followed by a pull.

But now, faced with the very real threat of her imminent departure, Lelouch wonders what the hell is holding him back. His pride? His fear? Fuck it.

He will drown in her.

Perhaps a year or 2 ago, Lelouch would have bluntly denied any supposed relationship, but now, he realizes that she has to know that she can have everything.

He follows her, and he will continue to follow her forever, nearly matching her own pace. "My name? Well, taking it from Lelouch Lamperouge, how does L.L. sound?"

Her feet abruptly halt in mid-step, and she freezes in place. Slowly, like she's not sure if he'll disappear if she turns too quickly, she pivots her body to face him. Oh, his clever witch has understood him.

"Huh?" she says, in a whisper that's barely audible.

"No good?" he inquires back politely.

Her entire body shakes, it's nearly imperceptible, but Lelouch is attuned to the way the tremors reach her fingers. A myriad of emotions flashes across her face— incredulity, pain, longing—before tears glaze over her honey-golden eyes and stream freely down her dirt-stained cheeks. Her lip wobbles, her face contorting through a series of conflicting feelings before settling on the purest form of happiness he's ever seen.

She looks human. No, she _is_ human.

Take it. She can take everything— his heart, his soul, his life. She could take him and crush him in the palm of her hand 100 or 1000 or 1 million times if she wanted to, because from this moment on, he would always be hers.

C.C.'s eyes are swimming with emotion as she looks up at him, really looks at him as her equal partner and not someone to maintain equilibrium with. She smiles so softly and gently that he feels the tell-tale pressure of tears building behind his own eyes.

This is the correct decision. The only decision. Because the inevitable truth was that anywhere C.C. went, L.L. would follow.

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Author's note: I know it's been nearly a year since the first chapter...but I looked at this story yesterday and just suddenly knew what to write. I usually favor writing C.C. over Lelouch, but I like how writing out Lelouch felt different yet still held similar emotion to her perspective. While C.C. has insecurities about being inhuman and unlovable, I think from Lelouch's side it'll suddenly hit him that he cares about her happiness more than maintaining the "I don't need you I can be strong and independent by myself" sort of back-and-forth dynamic of their relationship.

I'm glad that the series ended with a happy ending for my first and original OTP, and writing these 2 chapters felt like my own goodbye and appreciation for this wonderful show.

Thank you for reading!


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